Texas authorities are expanding their investigation into Hope Trans LLC after an 18-wheeler operated by the company plowed into stopped traffic on Interstate 20 in Kaufman County, killing five people on Saturday. Four of the victims were members of the McKellar family from Fort Worth; a fifth motorist also died. Twenty-year-old Evan McKellar, whose foot was severed in the collision, remains in critical condition. The truck’s driver, 27-year-old Alexis Osmani Gonzalez-Companioni, has been charged with five counts of manslaughter and four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. According to an arrest affidavit, Gonzalez-Companioni told investigators he had fallen asleep at the wheel and awoke to a “loud bang.” State troopers reported no evidence the rig’s brakes were applied before impact; the speed limit along that stretch of I-20 is 75 mph. Federal records show the Tacoma-registered carrier has a 33.8 percent vehicle out-of-service rate—more than 10 points above the national average—and repeated citations for drivers exceeding federal hours-of-service limits. A former Hope Trans driver told WFAA the company falsified electronic logs and back-dated shipping documents, recounting a 1,900-mile run completed in 34 hours on just three hours of sleep. Gov. Greg Abbott said he has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to widen its probe into potential criminal violations by the company and its personnel. The National Transportation Safety Board has also opened a separate investigation. Regulators are examining whether systemic safety failures at Hope Trans contributed to one of the state’s deadliest highway crashes this year.